"Prince" Dschero Khan

Sorry for the late reply, I’ve been too busy the last few months… This man is a well-known figure in Dutch Martial Arts and played a role in the “pioneering” days of Martial Arts in this country. He is also well known for his fantastic stories, ultra bold claims, giving away of Dan certificates and strange stunts (he once bulldozered the office of a newspaper that wrote negatively about him).

It bugs me that this man got an entry on Wikipedia. I should really drop a message on the discussion page. He even got his “biography” published that was written by a dopesmoking reggae DJ. I have the book but haven’t read it yet, it seems well written but besides that is just another (and apparently) successful) attempt for Prince Dschero Khan AKA Gerard Karel Meijers to spawn his propaganda. Many of the claims in the book about monks in Asia, a monastery in Indonesia, military background in Indonesia, etc are probably hard to refute. So much time has passed and, personally, I don’t know any Indonesian. This is what I do know:

As for his martial arts mastery: he trained in Kuntao (kung fu that came to the Netherlands by Indonesia), ju jutsu/judo and Karate. He never achieved a black belt in the Japanese arts (at that time there was only one MA organization over here, so this is a fact) and later awarded himself a black belt in Kempo (a term used to designate Kuntao). His tenth degree is from master Huang Sian Teh from Taiwan. His organisation is called the World Chinese Martial Arts Federation. The MA orgs in Taiwan are, from what I heard, quite lenient in the styles they acknowledge. Apparently they acknowledge kempo/kuntao. Both the master and his organisation seem legit. See wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chinese_Martial_Arts_Federationandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huang_sian_tehYou can find a pic of his 12th degree certificate and pics of him teaching in Taiwan on this site:http://www.klewang.de/pictures-dkhan3.htmhttp://www.klewang.de/wubeichi.htmI strongly doubt if the ever did any examination for this org.

His military claims. The only thing I have to refute his claims is his military number that contains his date of birth, which makes him 7 years younger. He couldn’t fight in the KNIL if the was only 10 years old. He has served in the Korean war and in no other war. He has not a single award for bravery. (from an old dutch newspaper article).

Now for his claim to be a descendant of Djengiz Khan. Djengiz Khan apparently slept with 200 to 300 women (this is legend, but might contain a grain of truth), so there should be quite a few descendants running around in Asia. It must be said: he DID get an audience with the government of Mongolia. The embassy of Mongolia said: “there is no royal family of Mongolia, there hasn’t been since 1924”.

Does this make him a total fraud? It’s just how you look at it. He was, from what I have been told, a proficient martial artist and a good teacher (these were the pre-UFC pre-Muay Thai days). He has some good students still active.

Feel free to post any questions about this may if you have any. I have quite a bit of material about him at home.

Would this info be in Lebell's back yard, or in Indonesia? It would be interesting to see if this can be verified as well.

I'm not sure how exact the Ancient State Archives of Ulaan Bataar are, but that's one of the supposed sources for this info.

Well, where does one start, with so much to work with?

Several of the awards that he is wearing are from the US and are hardly ever awarded to people other than US Military personnel.

He's wearing the Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) Blue Background Silver Rifle, as well as Master Jump Wings, both US awards.
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On the left shoulder he is wearing some type of SOG Patch (Special Operations Group, Vietnam) which was never awarded to anyone in uniform, it was an after market patch, and not authorized for uniform use or wear.

He is also wearing the US Army Marksmanship device, with other awards, which are not clear.

He is wearing the RVN Cross of Gallentary Ribbon, as well as the Vietnam Ribbon, both distinctive US awards.

The flash patch on the beret is also US distinctive, as it from the Special Forces Group, most likely the 5th, which is out of Ft Bragg now, and the most active of all the US Army SF in Vietnam.

Need I go on?

Rarely do any troops of any one country get to mix awards from one county to another. Only for special awards for bravery are they allowed.

I would say that he has a nice collection. Wonder how much that all cost?

I see a lot of similarities between this guy and Maung Giy of Bando fame. Playing around with birthdates...unrealistic military exploits.

Does this make him a total fraud? Itâ€™s just how you look at it. He was, from what I have been told, a proficient martial artist and a good teacher (these were the pre-UFC pre-Muay Thai days). He has some good students still active.

...and this is the same meme Gyi's adherents use.

Is there any martial art or martial art instructor thats SOOOO good that you would be willing to ignore character issues like this? Is MA instruction really that rare and that important that you would be willing to rub elbows with people like this to get it?

...He was, from what I have been told, a proficient martial artist and a good teacher (these were the pre-UFC pre-Muay Thai days)...

Pre-Muay Thai days?

How many centuries back do we go? :-D

(Seriously though, thanks for the input. Please just use the standard format for writing next time, though, it is easier to read, thanks.)

CLICK & WATCH: I got BULLSHIDO ON TV!!!
"Bruce Lee sucks because I slammed my nuts with nunchucks trying to do that stupid **** back in the day. I still managed to have two kids. I forgive you Bruce." - by Vorpal

WOn the left shoulder he is wearing some type of SOG Patch (Special Operations Group, Vietnam) which was never awarded to anyone in uniform, it was an after market patch, and not authorized for uniform use or wear.

You're definitely on point about the patch. Looking at the old MACV SOG patches, they were made in country and were never that good looking (also, depending on who you ask, the looters and shooters tended not to wear them).

Since my last post about Dschero Khan I have read his biography and Dschero Khan himself has put up a website. This post reiterates my points made in my earlier post, but will go into some of the details and "evidence" that have been published online.

Our friend may well be a member of the organisations he lists (at least one of which he founded himself). In his bio he states that he enlisted in the American Army under his Taiwanese passport. But even then he couldn't have recieved half of his medals as they require an American passport.
A Dutch newspaper (De Gelderlander) phoned the Dutch Military about his record. This is what they were told: "We do know a Gerard K. Meijers, born on 28 August 1834 as stated in his registration number 34.08.28.245. That should be 1928? OK, but he is in no way the most decorated soldier in the Netherlands. He doesn't have a single award for bravery. Because he served in Korea he got the cross with buckle, the UN-service award and Koreal war medal. He left for Korea in 1953 as a volunteer, which provided him with the opportunity to become a proffesional soldier. He signed in 1954 for seven years and continued in 1961. He left the military in October 1966. No, not as a sergeant, but a corporal first class."
In his biography he places himself in Forrest Gump like fashion in all the major wars (he claims he is a veteran of nine). By stating that he was born 6 years earlier he could fight the Japanese in Indonesia as a 16 year old etc, etc. A 10 year old fighting the Japanese? An old bugger sent on secret missions to Irak? Not very likely.

This is the most tricky one as fact and fantasy are intertwingled here. In his biography we walked with a Buddhist monk from Mongolia to Singapore, visiting the Shaolin Temple on the way. He studied Martial Arts in a Buddhist Monastery in Indonesia (the monastery he mentions is actually Taoist) and later meets the teacher of his life, Huang Sian Teh in Taiwan.
In Dutch Martial Arts circles it is known that he studied Kyokushin Karate under Jon Bluming (Orange Belt; with whom he would later come into conflict), Jiu-Jitsu (Blue Belt) with the famed Boersma family and Kuntao under Carel Faulhaber. The later chose Meijers/Dschero Khan to promote the style as his own sons were still underaged. The name Shaolin Kempo was chosen because the Budo Bond Nederland at the time only accepted sports with a Japanese name. To a degree he founded his Martial Art, as it's a Japonised version of a Chinese Martial Art. He was a professional Martial Arts teacher from 1966 onwards and had quite a following in and around Arnhem. He taught the border police in Germany starting in 1976. In the early 1980's he bought his house in Horst (South of the Netherlands) and retired from teaching. There is no record of him ever fighting a slingle match.
This is a vid of him in his younger years. Besides some super compliant crap, he is actually pretty fast in his movements. For a 3th generation student of Cheng Man Ching his Tai Chi looks like total crap.
The 12th degree Kempo certificate on his site is from master Huang Sian Teh. Who also gave him degrees in Psychology, Anthropology and Accupuncture. It may be that these certificates are falsified or that Huang Sian Teh is just a bullshido artist. There are pics on his site of Huang Sian Teh and Dschero Khan together. There are also pics of him posing with Gogen Yamaguchi and students of Shorinji Kempo in Japan, I don't know to what degree he was actually taught by them (as claimed in his biography).

Descendant of Genghis Khan

Diplomat and Advisor of the Mongolian Government O.D.

Prince Prof. Dr. Ganjuuryn Dschero Khan
from the Royal Bordschigin Family of Mongolia

Every site that claims he is of royal Mongolian blood is linked to him and in the meanwhile our friend has the evidence on video. Conveniently he ony went public with this story after the death of his father in 1989, otherwise a simple call could have provided clarity. The info about his parents is on file in the Netherlands, but can only be consulted with permission of our Prince (which he will never give). Jon Bluming related in his memoirs that Meijers/Dschero Khan once introduced him to "his mother". A frail Indonesian lady in a resort for the elderly that could cook wonderful foods.

The verdict?
There is no law in the Netherlands against wearing false Military awards or our friend would be in prison. As far as martial arts is concerned: Did he intentionally misinform people? Absolutely. Did he charge them a lot for tuition and have them sign contracts? I don't know, maybe not. The tuition itself might have been pretty good for those times.
This guy is however not a total no-brainer:
-Why do so many people fall for his charade including Geshe Konchog Lhundup (respected lama) and Mario Higgaonna of Goju-ryu fame?
-Where did he get the money to buy his cars while he hasn't had a job for decades?
-Why does the Taiwanese martial arts community support a con artist?